It was Graeme Swann, during the build-up to this game, who argued that England should be making more of home advantage by producing pitches to suit the strength of their seam attack. This is Swann’s home ground and someone was clearly listening. For the second time in this NatWest Series, conditions were ideal for seam and swing bowling, and James Anderson indulged himself like a pig in mud, routing Sri Lanka’s top order. On a well-grassed pitch — “exactly what we asked for,” Alastair Cook, the England captain, said — Anderson sent Sri Lanka spiralling towards 174 all out.
Cook then led his side to victory in emphatic manner with an unbeaten 95 off 75 balls, providing the most compelling evidence yet that he could develop into a potent one-day opening batsman. His crisp strokeplay dominated the early stages of an unbroken opening partnership of 171 with Craig Kieswetter, a record for any England wicket against Sri Lanka. Coasting to their revised target under floodlights with the small matter of 24.1 overs to spare, England levelled the series at 2-2, with the final match at Old Trafford on Saturday.
In his first series as permanent one-day captain, Cook followed his century at Lord’s with an innings of much greater authority, reaching his fifty from only 37 balls. Sri Lanka’s bowlers fed his strengths, straying frequently onto his legs, but there was a weight of stroke in his 16 fours — all of them along the ground — that had not been seen before. Kieswetter, nominally the more aggressive partner, played second fiddle to finish on 72 from 68 balls. Cook could not recall a time when he had struck the ball more sweetly. “I’ve always known I can play the one-day game, I just have to prove it,” he said. “If I keep batting like that, it’ll stand me in good stead.”
It had helped England’s cause that Cook won his third toss in a row and that the weather has taken a turn for the worse. Or perhaps, for England, it has taken a turn for the better. When the sun has shone in this series and conditions have remained dry, as they did in the second and third matches at Headingley Carnegie and Lord’s, Sri Lanka have won comfortably. Either side of those two games, with rain in the air and juice in the pitch, the balance of power has been completely reversed. Saturday’s weather forecast will be monitored with interest.
With the ball, Anderson set the tone instantly for England, just as he had done in the opening game at the Kia Oval. The fifth ball of the match was an outswinger of perfect length that Tillekeratne Dilshan tickled to Kieswetter behind the stumps. In Anderson’s third over, he nipped one back to trap Dinesh Chandimal legbefore on the front foot, and in his fifth over Thilina Kandamby dangled his bat and edged to second slip.
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Tim Bresnan chipped in with the wicket of Mahela Jayawardena, caught at first slip from a ball that bounced, and Stuart Broad finally took his first wicket of the series when Suraj Randiv gloved down the leg side.
From 57 for five, it was a long way back for Sri Lanka and, although Kumar Sangakkara played a fine restorative innings of 75 from 107 balls, the only support he received was from Angelo Mathews. An athletic onehanded diving catch from Bresnan in his follow-through ended Mathews’s contribution and Jade Dernbach bowled full and straight to take the last three wickets.
To have any chance of defending such a total, Sri Lanka had to take early wickets. Instead, the contrast between the opening overs of the two innings could scarcely have been greater. Cook stroked three fours in the first over, bowled by Nuwan Kulasekara, and Kieswetter was soon into his stride.
The only issue in the closing stages was whether Cook would reach his hundred, but, after consultation with his captain, Kieswetter settled the matter with his third six and a single off Kulasekara.
The victory could hardly have been more decisive, only the fourth time that England have won a one-day international by ten wickets. The groundstaff at Lancashire can expect an order for more home comforts to be in place at Old Trafford on Saturday.